Baby Sleep Help - Natalie's Response

Mum Zone's resident Sleep Expert Natalie of Sleep and Settle is available to answer some of your questions about settling your baby and more.

Topics include: Sleeping and settling, moving from bassinette to cot, cot to bed, breastfeeding/formula, solids, floorplay for babies and play for toddlers/children, wrapping/sleeping bags/dressing baby, behaviour/tantrums, what's normal? bedroom environments, music, lights, entertainment, mattresses, mattress protectors, sheets, unsettled babies and the 0-12 week afternoon arsenic hours, reflux/colic, teething, worms, toilet training, night terrors/nightmares, the older child issues 5-10 years and single parenting/separation/divorce.

Check out our Baby Sleep Help page or read another question now!

Reader's Question

My 4 week old son is very unsettled. He cries a lot and we only get 4 hours asleep at night as he cries on and off all night. I was wondering what I could do to help him settle of a night.

Natalie's Response

Hi,

It must be very tiring and frustrating for you. Without further baby history, I will explore the possible reasons for his discomfort.

Consider the following:

• You only mention the night time as being a problem not the day. This makes me wonder if your little one has his days and nights mixed up and is sleeping for longer than 3 hours at a time during the day (and having his night time sleeps) and then wants to be awake all night (having his daytime). If we allow a baby to sleep for longer than 3 hours during the day they can miss out on feeds. Your baby has a milk quota he needs every 24 hours and if he has long sleeps in the day will need to catch up and feed more frequently overnight.
  
  
• It is normal for a baby to feed around 11pm, 2-3am and 5-6 am overnight and then start their day at the next feed. You may like to get out of bed for the feeds with slippers and a dressing gown and set yourself up in a comfortable position somewhere in the house with a lamp on and the TV if you wish for night feeds. This will encourage you to be awake and feed baby as efficiently as possible so when they wake you for a feed they feed well and then after a burp, nappy change and re-wrap are ready for bed again. As tempting as it may be if you put baby back to bed straight after a feed without burping, (because they have fallen asleep during the feed) this may lead to wind problems within the hour or two.
  
  
• Does your baby have reflux? If so they will be very unsettled during and/or after a feed, not like floor play or lying down, do a lot of swallowing, throat clearing and coughing to clear their throat. May cry or scream with a feed and will cry and or scream in their sleep but not always at the same time of day. Baby may or may not vomit with the crying or screaming but may cry after a cough or swallow. If so see your gp, raise the head end of the cot legs with a brick, keep upright for 5-10 minutes after a feed.
  
  
• Could your baby be reacting to what you are eating for dinner if you are breastfeeding? Sometimes babies are very sensitive to mum's diet and can be very unsettled overnight if you have eaten a spicy or rich food for dinner. It can be tempting to have a lot of takeaways when home with the new baby, so if this is the case try some simpler foods and see how you go.
  
  
• Does your baby know how to self-settle to sleep? If you are doing anything to put baby to sleep including dummies, rocking, patting, walking the halls, bouncers etc, to put baby to sleep they may not be aware how to do it themselves and therefore in the night time every time they wake they need your assistance to go back to sleep. If you would like a gentle self-settling strategy see www.sleepandsettle.com.au
  
  
• Does your baby's wrapping and tucking in need fine tuning? Babies usually like to be wrapped firmly and tucked in tightly in their beds. When we are asking our babies to sleep for longer periods overnight they will appreciate feeling snug. My sleep package has a great wrapping diagram.
  
  
• Is your baby cold? It can be confusing trying to decide how to dress baby to avoid SIDS and not overheat. Some parents also have opposite thermostats which makes it harder to decide on what to dress the baby in.
  
  
• Could your baby have a lactose intolerance or not like the formula it is drinking? See your gp.
  
  
• Once you find the reason for the crying it may make it a little easier to have a comfortable plan in place to solve the problem.

Hope this helps,
Natalie

View more Baby Sleep Help Questions and Responses.

The opinions expressed on these pages are of a general nature and are by no means a substitute for professional advice. Therefore neither Mum Zone or Natalie Ebrill of Sleep and Settle are liable for any actions pertaining to the use of the supplied information.